With less than a month until elections take place in Taiwan, the KMT’s messaging proves to be highly unusual. In particular, the party does not seem to have a coherent strategy, caught between efforts to moderate its message and try to appeal to the hardliners of the deep Blue camp...
KMT legislator Jessica Chen, who represents the party in Kinmen, recently called for the freezing of the Straits Exchange Foundation’s budget over what she claims to be the failure of the body’s promotion of trade ties with China. Chu called for the freezing of 45 million NT that was to be allocated to the SEF...
One sees the return of familiar issues in the presidential election with pan-Blue candidates criticizing new textbook guidelines that reduce the teaching of classical Chinese. This has been framed by both KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi, TPP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, and former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT as “desinicization"...
In a surprise move, TPP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je has stated that he intends to maintain the current foreign policy of President Tsai Ing-wen, except that he would place greater emphasis on exchanges with China. This seems to be an attempt by Ko to swerve after the embarrassing debacle in which he rowed with KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi, as well as independent candidate Terry Gou on live television...
The KMT and TPP have begun to lean into calls to restart talks over the CSSTA. The CSSTA was the controversial trade agreement that the KMT hoped to ink with China during the Ma administration, resulting in the outbreak of the 2014 Sunflower Movement...
Controversy has broken out about the DPP and TPP vice presidential candidates regarding allegations about whether they hold US citizenship. In particular, the DPP is fielding former representative to the US, Hsiao Bikhim, as its vice presidential candidate. On the other hand, the TPP is fielding legislator Cynthia Wu as its vice presidential candidate. The KMT is fielding pan-Blue firebrand and media personality Jaw Shaw-kong as their vice presidential candidate, though he has not become embroiled in any citizenship controversy...
Today was the last day for candidates to register for the presidential election, with the deadline being 5:30 PM. After yesterday’s drama, involving a televised public spat between all of the major pan-Blue presidential candidates, each candidate seemed set to field a separate run, with hopes of a joint ticket scuppered...
The already convoluted saga of a prospective alliance between the TPP and KMT took a turn for the bizarre today. This took the form of a press conference that involved all of the pan-Blue presidential candidates–Hou You-yi of the KMT, Ko Wen-je of the TPP, and independent candidate Terry Gou–openly sparring with each other. Former president Ma Ying-jeou and KMT party chair Eric Chu were also present. The deadline for candidates to register for president is 5:30 PM tomorrow...
Despite much expectation that the joint ticket between the TPP and KMT would be announced this morning, with it announced who would be the presidential candidate between TPP chair and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and KMT candidate Han Kuo-yu at aa press conference scheduled for 10 AM, Ko Wen-je has now pulled out of the alliance. That being said, Ko stated that talks will continue between the two parties...
